PIGS!! Money in the bank. (Hobbies and Collecting Stores in general)

Member Name: shabbie

Product:	Hobbies and Collecting Stores in general
Date:	09/08/01 (403 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Make money

Disadvantages: Beware of forgeries

There may be many of you out there, right now, who have very sought after collectors items gathering dust on a shelf, or tucked away in that 'golden oldies' box in a corner of the loft. Yes, we've all seen Antiques Roadshow, but you know you have no 16th century family heirlooms kicking about. Well the items I thought I'd mention here in fact only date back to the 80s, yes the 1980s, but their value is increasing all the time, and are now highly collectable.

I am referring to Natwest Pigs. Does that ring any bells?

Way back in the early 80s, the Natwest Bank, like so many others, realised there was money to be made from the younger generation, and decided they would like to get their hands on it. So they came up with the idea, which had been done many times before, of enticing youngsters by rewarding them for opening an account with them and saving money. This new incentive to entice the children into saving up their pocket money, was a Piggy Bank. Very original. But this was not just a normal piggy bank, this was a whole family of pigs.

The promotion began in the early 80s and was a huge success. The children on opening their account, received a baby pig, complete with nappy, called Woody. They collected all their pennies in Woody, and when they reached £25, they nipped down to the bank and put this into their account, and they were then sent Woody's big sister Annabel, all kitted out in her school gear. (she looks as if she attended St Trinians). The next target was £50, and brother Maxwell arrived on their doorstep. He is wearing blue trousers with braces and a red and white striped tie. (his shirt must have been in the wash). Lady Hilary, the mummy,(who looks a little like Margaret Thatcher, complete with handbag), was next in line when savings had reached £75, and when the grand total of £100 was attained, big daddy himself, Sir Nathaniel Westminster,arrived to complete the family.

Now, originally when
Natwest came up with this idea of the pig family, they approached a small pottery firm, who produced the first batch of Woody, but the promotion was so successful, this small company could not keep up with demand. So Natwest had to look for another supplier who could cope with the huge demand, and they approached a very famous company called Wade, as their factory could cope with high volume production. This is why the pigs are now so collectable. In fact as soon as it was known that it was Wade who were making these banks, collectors went crazy, and apparently imaginary grandchildren, dogs and cats all had junior accounts at Natwest.

You may think the story of this pig family ends there, but there is actually one other member who is not so well known. His name is Cousin Wesley. In 1998, Natwest launched a new "Children's Bond" account. To get Wesley you had to open a bond account for a child under 16, and invest £1,000 for 5 years in the child's name. Only 5000 models of Wesley were ever produced, so he is the most sought after of the bunch.

Today, Wade collectors are screaming out for this Pig Family, and many are willing to pay silly prices for them. Now, before I go any further, there are a few little things you should know, especially if you plan to buy any of these pigs for your own collection.

You may find advertised, a very rare Woody with no Wade marking on the base. This is in fact one of the original ones I mentioned above that was made before Wade became involved, and I'm afraid these are really not worth anything to a Wade collector, but unless you know the history of the pigs, you could be fooled into believing the hype. Another way you could be landed with a non-Wade Woody, is by buying the complete Pig Family, which many have on offer. Always check Woody is stamped before purchasing the pigs as a set.

The main scam going on at the moment, and the police are involved here, is with regards to
Wesley. There are in circulation some very special gold Wesleys with no money slot. Wade has never produced such a model, so don't be tempted.

It would be very difficult to state what each of these pigs are worth at the moment, as prices can vary depending on where you look. Anyone who is interested in buying or selling them is advised to spend a little time checking them out on places like Ebay or Yahoo auction sites, and also use a search engine to find the various Wade message boards which always have people wishing to buy and sell. I would say though, if you have a Wesley for sale, hold onto him for a little while, for although you may be offered anything up to £400-500 for him, his value will increase as he is so rare.

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